This show is professional and reserved for the most part, but after a complete listen and a look back at the setlist from a bird’s eye view, you realize it’s also a Grateful Dead gamble that really paid off. Based on what they played (and didn’t play) the previous few nights, they could’ve just coasted through this Nassau run closer with an easy rock/blues-heavy first set and an Estimated > Eyes, Scarlet > Fire, or Dark Star to carry them through the second. Instead, they really shake it up and shuffle the deck. On paper the setlist doesn’t seem like much, but when you look closer, it’s a very interesting selection, and it flows surprisingly well in performance.

In the first set, all of the Garcia songs are early 70’s originals, and all of the Bobby songs are covers, and it’s all played very well to boot. It looks much more like a ‘94 or ‘95-type first set than something out of ‘90 or ‘91. Brown-Eyed Women is slow and sincere, perfect for the beefy 7-piece band to really clamp down on. Sometimes that song and the story it tells can be bitter and resentful. This one is delivered with rainy sadness and regret.Garcia plays a very original solo, and practically sobs “I’d cut hickory just to fire the still.” Masterpiece features an even more gorgeous and ingeniously creative guitar solo from Captain Trips, and reading the room perfectly, he closes the first set by piloting one of the trippiest Bird Songs of the 90’s, which is saying quite a lot. The jam is stable at first, but eventually rolls downhill through a deep forest of uncertainty, with sagging tempos and splashing musical coloration so thick that Mickey can barely carve his way through it to pin down at least the illusion of sanity. It’s pure audio acid.

To start the second set, they flank two well-played standards with two brand new numbers, and each song has a completely different vibe and singer than the last. They manage to pull it off, even if there’s a spark or two (Wave to the Wind still needed some practice, as this version is a bit rushed). They have one more trick up their sleeve: Space > The Wheel is always a good listen, but from there, they turn the page from a floaty riddle about time to a heavy Wharf Rat. It’s two Garcia songs in a row, then two Weir songs in a row to close the set, which is very rare. Of note, Throwing Stones is also Bob’s only original of the night. Phil misses a step in Box of Rain, but salvages it for a nice encore to the 3-night stand in Uniondale.

There are Spring ‘92 shows with more hits and acclaim, like 3/1/92 and 3/20/92, but this one is a successful effort to step outside the box. In such a familiar venue, what better way to pull a fast one on the tour heads and Long Island faithful than to pull some crafty setlist moves, play some new tunes, and put a few wonderfully creative spins on the old favorites? If nothing else, check out this gooey, psychedelic Bird Song, which is a great showcase of the MIDI expertise they’d achieved by this point in the game.